Kitchen knives used in stabbings

Kitchen knives have become the most used weapons in teenage stabbings, the Metropolitan Police commissioner said.

About 200 blades have been seized and 210 people have been arrested in the past two weeks in a crackdown on knife crime, Sir Ian Blair revealed.

Speaking at Scotland Yard, Sir Ian said parents "must have conversations about knife crime with teenagers".

Fifteen teenagers have been killed in London so far this year, of which 11 were stabbed.

Sir Ian's announcement came as a nationwide £3m government advertising campaign against knife crime was launched.

'Tough love'

The hard-hitting adverts - featuring graphic images such as a man with a knife and a screwdriver in his chest - were designed by teenagers.

Following the deaths of 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen, who was attacked with a shard of glass, and Steven Bigby, 22, who was fatally stabbed in Oxford Street, Sir Ian announced an increase in stop and search operations, codenamed Operation Blunt 2.

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